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Jon Watts in Talks to Direct Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel

Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are in talks with director Jon Watts to return to direct the currently untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, which is set to be released after Avengers 4 in 2019.

Spider-Man: Homecoming has been a big success for both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and for Sony, as audiences have embraced the partnership made between the two companies for this Avengers-integrated version of the web-slinger. A lot of this can be attributed to not only the fantastic performance of Tom Holland as a very teenage and naive Peter Parker, but the unique John Hughes-style high school comedic tone that Watts was able to achieve in his big budget debut. The film has earned some of the most universally positive reviews of any superhero film and has performed at the expectations of the studios at the box office, so naturally Watts seems like a safe and confident choice to return for a follow up.

According to THR, Sony and Marvel are wasting no time trying to secure Watts for the sequel, as talks have already begun between the two sides. Watts is sure to be a much more in-demand name for behind-the-camera following his success with Homecoming, so it seems like a sensible move to lock the director down now for the sequel. Before Homecoming, the director was best known for indie films Cop Car and Klown, each of which had a budget under $5 million compared to the $175 million of the superhero blockbuster.

Few details are known about the follow-up to Homecoming (whatever it will be called has not been revealed yet). We know that the film picks up mere minutes following Avengers 4, with Peter Parker now a junior in high school who has been affected by the supposedly world-changing events of the previous two Avengers films. It's expected that a bunch of his high school buddies from the film will return, as will Marisa Tomei's Aunt May.

In regards to villain possibilities for sequels, Screen Rant spoke to Watts during our visit to the Spider-Man: Homecoming set last August. He revealed during the shoot that he already has ideas of who could be next if he was given a chance to direct the sequel, talking about the importance of developing this corner of the MCU:

Yeah, we have some ideas of who could fit in in an interesting way, but we’re just trying to build Spider-Man’s side of the world in a rich way that could organically lead to some of that great rogue’s gallery. Not Jackson Wheel, you guys know Jackson Wheel? He’s like one of the silliest of all villains. His name is Jackson Wheel and he becomes Big Wheel and he rides around in a giant wheel. There’s another guy named Gideon Mace. It’s hard to get, except for digital copies, some years, there’s some real, real classic villains. Will-O’-The-Wisp. Gideon Mace, he has an arm that’s a mace that also shoots mace. You just imagine the writers just cracking up. ‘We’re late for our deadline, uhhh…Gideon Mace.’ It’s so fun.

With Michael Keaton's Vulture leaving a big impression and Michael Mando's Mac Gargan/The Scorpion still in play, it'll be interesting to see if the sequel will rest back on used villains like Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin or look to include unused members of the rogue's gallery like Kraven the Hunter and the Chameleon. More details will be revealed when we get closer to Spider-Man: Homecoming 2's release date in July 2019.